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<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=200 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1278dfc3.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="1288dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#336666" FACE="Arial" ><B>New Directions CBRI</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New Directions CBRI"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> back to  <A HREF="id34_community_land_trusts___the_following.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tool Box"><U><B>Community land trusts</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="3" CELLPADDING="6" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="658" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#009933" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 69 WIDTH="636"><div> Land Trust Q&A</div> <div> Newsday, January 21, 2007</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 777 WIDTH="636"><div> <B>OK, I think I understand basically what a land trust is, but I have some practical questions. For starters, do property taxes work the same as they do for single-family homes?</B>   Yes, with an asterisk. In some places, land trusts try to negotiate with the assessor so that the buildings are assessed slightly lower, because of the cap on the equity that owners can take away from the house when they sell. Assessors don't always grant this request. In any case, the owners of these homes most definitely pay property taxes. </div> <bR> <div> <B>What family income levels are eligible?</B> Like most affordable homes, land-trust homes are usually for folks who earn between 80 and 120 percent of an area's median income. </div> <div> <B>What do these homes look like?</B>  Like other homes in their area. In Vermont, for example, if you look at a group of homes on the same block in Burlington, you can't tell which are the land-trust homes and which are the market-rate homes. </div> <div> <B>Wait. I thought land-trust homes are all together in one group</B>. Sometimes they are, if a land trust acquires a piece of land and builds several houses on it. Sometimes, a land trust acquires a home or a vacant lot surrounded by market-priced homes and either builds a house new or fixes up an old one. </div> <div> <B>How much money can a family save by buying a land-trust home?</B>  It depends on the area. The biggest cost of housing is usually the land. By owning the land beneath the house, the land trust takes that cost out of the equation for the person who buys the house. </div> <div> <B>Are there restrictions on what a homeowner can do with the land, such as building a garage, or landscaping?</B>  Not necessarily. It depends on the terms of the ground lease, the agreement between the land trust and the buyer that allows the buyer to live on land-trust land. If there are restrictions, they are usually about the same as those you typically find with condos and co-ops.  </div> <div> <B>Is there a limit on the number of years someone can stay in a land-trust house?</B>       No. You can stay there as long as you meet your mortgage and tax obligations. And your heirs can inherit the house. Of course, with the house come the ground lease and any restrictions it may contain. </div> <div> <B>So why don't more people live in land-trust houses?</B>     There aren't that many available yet. Land trusts are still a growing phenomenon, and people still feel uncomfortable with any restrictions on how much they can earn by selling a house. Homes are still widely looked upon as speculative investments, and land trusts reduce the whoopee factor of selling a house for a huge profit. But wait. Their time may be coming.</div> <div> - BOB KEELER       </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>